Neil Hall/Reuters

Police officers detain a protester demonstrating against the upcoming G8 summit in central London on Tuesday.

LONDON — British riot police clashed with anti-capitalist protesters in running confrontations through the streets of central London on Tuesday, arresting at least 32 people as activists targeted some of the world's biggest companies before next week's G8 summit.

About 100 protesters gathered outside oil company BP Plc's headquarters, while others chanted "war criminals" at the office of U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin Corp. and booed outside the offices of U.S.-based bank Citi.

In a roof-top drama caught on camera, one protester lunged towards officers on the top of a four-storey building where activists had been holed up and was wrestled to the ground by police wearing abseiling ropes just inches from the roof's unprotected edge.

Police used chainsaws to break into the block in the Soho district where the StopG8 protest group had been staying before a "Carnival Against Capitalism" to coincide with the June 17-18 G8 meeting at a golf resort in Northern Ireland.

Several hundred protesters - who had threatened to target major hedge funds, banks and natural resources companies - played cat and mouse with riot police sowing hours of traffic chaos in some of London's most fashionable streets.

Around 100 protesters gathered outside a central London police station this evening shaking fists and shouting "let them go" and "@!$%# the police", referring to activists detained earlier, blaring loud and angry hip hop music.

"The G8 is just a front for the corporatocracy, for the kleptocrats. It is about making them more money and dividing up the world so they can all get richer," said a protester at Piccadilly Circus who gave his name only as Silver Fox.

"The G8 should be about ending all the wars - why don't they give peace a chance for once?"

Police chased groups of shouting protesters down Oxford Street and Regent Street, one of London's main shopping areas, to the visible shock of tourists before heading past the U.S. embassy in Mayfair, one of the capital's most exclusive areas.

Nearly 1,200 police were mobilized to deal with the protests. Police said they had arrested 32 people for offences including criminal damage, assault on police and possession of an offensive weapon.

'RETAKING THE STREETS'

Activists, some with their faces covered, waved black, green and red flags as they marched down Oxford Street. They carried banners saying "No borders, no prisons, no capitalism" and "One Common Struggle."

Isolated scuffles broke out when police moved in to arrest individuals as a group of activists banged on drums and blew whistles beside snarled traffic.

"We are retaking the streets. We want to make a statement that capitalism is screwing the majority of people," said protester Emma Goldman. "If we were in (Turkey's) Taksim Square people would say we were anti-government protesters. Here they probably call us a mob."

British Prime Minister David Cameron has set boosting trade, ensuring tax compliance and greater corporate transparency in developing countries as his priorities for the G8 summit.

But protesters on the streets said they felt the summit, where Cameron will welcome leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin, was about dividing up wealth and had become a hostage to corporate interests.

StopG8 last month issued a map of 100 potential targets for people to "show their anger," identifying offices of financial organizations such as banks, hedge funds, defense manufacturer BAE Systems and mining and energy companies including ArcelorMittal and BP.

The list includes hedge funds Man Group and Paulson, private equity firm Blackstone, banks such as Citi and Barclays and embassies including those of Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The group, which describes itself as an anti-capitalist network "made up of autonomous groups and individuals," had refused to cooperate with police.

One banker working for an international firm with offices in central London said the staff had received an email indicating around 500 people would attend the protest.

One hedge fund, which asked not to be identified, said it had advised its staff to be especially alert to the protests.

Recent demonstrations against the British government's austerity measures have been marred by rioting anarchists. Many Britons angered by bank bailouts and bonuses during tough economic times blame the financial sector.

Britain's last major riots took place in 2011 when thousands brought chaos to the center of the capital and several cities in a display of looting and anger initially provoked by the shooting by police of a man in north London.

Grant Falvey / Zuma Press

The fire broke out early Sunday at the Darul Uloom Islamic boarding school in Southeast London, UK.

LONDON -- British police arrested four teenagers late Sunday on suspicion of setting fire to an Islamic school amid fears of anti-Muslim attacks in retribution for the brutal killing of a soldier last month.

The Metropolitan Police said four males, two aged 18 and two aged 17, were being held at a South London police station. Police presence was being increased "around locations that might be at risk," police said.

The fire occurred late Saturday night at the Darul Uloom Islamic High School & College in Southeast London and was quickly extinguished, police said. There were minor damages to the building, which was briefly evacuated.

The incident follows another suspected arson attack at an Islamic center in North London on Wednesday. In that attack, the letters "EDL" -- the far-right group English Defence League -- were found written on the building, but the organization said it was not involved in the fire.

"We should not allow the murder of Lee Rigby to come between Londoners," Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said in a statement. "The unified response we have seen to his death across all communities will triumph over those who seek to divide us." 

Rigby, 25, was killed in broad daylight outside an army barracks in South London on May 22. His death is is being treated as a terror attack because eyewitness accounts and video evidence suggest it was carried out in protest of Western military involvement in Muslim countries.

The gory murder has raised fears of reprisal attacks against Muslims.

Related stories:

• Slain London soldier was 'loving father' who served in Afghanistan

Saurabh Das / AP file

Indian students shout slogans as they hold placards demanding stringent punishment to rapists during a protest in New Delhi, India on April 23.

An American woman was gang-raped after accepting a ride in India, where previous sex attacks have sparked angry protests and scared off female tourists.

Police said three men were being questioned Tuesday about the attack in a resort town in the foothills of the Himalayas, which is certain to focus new attention on the plight of women in India.

The attack echoes a number of other recent sex crimes in India, including the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old student by six men on a bus in New Delhi in December – a crime that caused a wave of angry public demonstrations.

“The three suspects have not yet been formally arrested but the investigating team is hopeful there will be a breakthrough in the case very soon,” said B. Kamal Kumar, director of police in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

The woman was attacked after she accepted a lift by a group of men in a truck in Manali, about 300 miles north of New Delhi, according to an Associated Press report published by the Hindustan Times.

Kumar confirmed that the victim was an American citizen between the ages of 35 and 40, but was unable to say where she was from.

“This is a very unfortunate case,” he said. “A female inspector has been added to the investigation team out of consideration of the comfort of the victim.”

On Monday, police in Kolkata arrested a local businessman for allegedly drugging and raping an Irish charity worker after her birthday party, The Associated Press said.

Earlier this year, a study in India found that the number of female tourists had fallen amid publicity over the attacks and concern about India's attitudes to sex crimes.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in New Delhi said: "We are in contact with authorities but due to issues of privacy we have no further comment."

Related:

• Female tourists steering clear of India after sex attacks
• 5 accused men plead not guilty in India gang rape

This story was originally published on Tue Jun 4, 2013 9:37 AM EDT

Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP - Getty Images

Firemen extinguish a burning car in Kista, Stockholm after riots on Tuesday night.

STOCKHOLM - Hundreds of youths set fire to cars and attacked police and rescue services in suburbs of Stockholm Tuesday night in Sweden's worst disorder in years.

A police station in the Jakobsberg area in the northwest of the city was attacked, two schools were damaged and an arts and crafts center was set ablaze, despite a call for calm from Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

It was the third night of unrest, mainly in suburbs where many immigrants live.

The riots, in one of Europe's richest capitals, have shocked a country that prides itself on a reputation for social justice, and fuelled a debate about how Sweden is coping with both youth unemployment and an influx of immigrants.

"We've had around 30 cars set on fire last night, fires that we connect to youth gangs and criminals," Kjell Lindgren, spokesman for Stockholm police, said on Wednesday.

He said eight people had been arrested on Tuesday night, but there were no reports of injuries.

The riots appear to have been sparked by the police killing of a 69-year-old man wielding a machete in the suburb of Husby this month, which prompted accusations of police brutality.

"Everyone must pitch in to restore calm - parents, adults," Reinfeldt told reporters on Tuesday.

After decades of practicing the "Swedish model" of generous welfare benefits, Sweden has been reducing the role of the state since the 1990s, spurring the fastest growth in inequality of any advanced OECD economy.

While average living standards are still among the highest in Europe, governments have failed to substantially reduce long-term youth unemployment and poverty, which have affected immigrant communities worst.

The left-leaning tabloid Aftonbladet said the riots represented a "gigantic failure" of government policies, which had underpinned the rise of ghettos in the suburbs.

"We have failed to give many of the people in the suburbs a hope for the future," Anna-Margrethe Livh of the opposition Left Party wrote in the daily Svenska Dagbladet.

An anti-immigrant party, the Sweden Democrats, has risen to third in polls ahead of a general election due next year, reflecting unease about immigrants among many voters.

Some 15 percent of the population is foreign-born, the highest proportion in the Nordic region. Unemployment among those born outside Sweden stands at 16 percent, compared with 6 percent for native Swedes, according to OECD data.

Among 44 industrialized countries, Sweden ranked fourth in the absolute number of asylum seekers, and second relative to its population, according to U.N. figures. 

ISTANBUL, Turkey – May Day protests in Istanbul turned ugly when Turkish riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations.

Ulas Yunus Tosun / EPA

Protesters clash with Turkish riot police during the May Day rally in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Thousands of police were deployed across the city Wednesday, closing off the roads around Istiklal Street – a major pedestrian street that leads to Taksim Square, Istanbul's version of New York's Times Square. 

Authorities had denied trade unions permission to march on Taksim, saying construction work there would make any gathering of protesters there too dangerous. 

At least 28 people were injured in clashes with police, including an AFP news agency photographer, and 72 arrests were made, according to the BBC.

On a typical day hundreds of thousands of people walk down Istiklal Street – the most popular pedestrian street in the city, lined with 19th century buildings and full of outdoor restaurants, bars and boutiques. 

Ozan Kose / AFP - Getty Images

Masked police officers take cover behind shields during clashes at a May Day demonstration in Istanbul.

But on Wednesday afternoon, riot police blocked the entrances to Istiklal and the roads around it.  Public transportation was disrupted across the city.  Tourists visiting the usually bustling commercial area had confused looks on their faces as they dragged heavy suitcases down side streets looking for the all too few available taxis.

Feahat Sevgi, a 21-year-old worker at a usually bustling coffee shop on Istiklal bemoaned the heavy police presence. “It was a very bad business day,” Sevgi said. “Usually we have hundreds of people coming here to get coffee, but today it was just a few. It’s not good for us.”

Police Officer Selcuk Oney, who was on the street near Taksim, defended the forces heavy presence across the city saying, “What we did today was to protect ordinary people.” 

Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images

Protesters chant slogans as they stand at the windows of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey building in Istanbul on Wednesday.

May Day protests had been banned in Turkey for decades, until they were reinstated in 2010. The day had a troubled history – 37 people were killed during May Day protests in Taksim Square in 1977 when unknown assailants fired shots in the air, sparking panic. But in 2010 the government declared the day an official holiday and agreed to allow protests in the square under tight security.  

NBC News Petra Cahill and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

• Photo Blog: May Day protests kick off worldwide

LONDON -- British authorities ordered more police on the streets for Sunday's London Marathon in the wake of the Boston bombings, but experts warned it was "virtually impossible" to guarantee the safety of the hundreds of thousands who will attend the event. 

A police source said additional patrols by uniformed officers were planned to reassure the public in the wake of deadly attack.

While British security officials have been in contact with their counterparts in the U.S. following Monday's blasts, the U.K.'s threat level for international terrorism hasn't been changed from "substantial" -- the third of five categories on the scale.

At least 500,000 spectators are expected to watch Sunday’s race and Prince Harry is due to hand medals to the winners.

The course takes the 36,000 runners right past major sites - including Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace – as well as through Canary Wharf, the giant riverside financial district targeted twice by the Irish militants in the 1990s.

Even in a city that has spent recent decades under the threat of bombs – first from Irish Republicans, more recently jihadists – such a public event poses a security headache.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said that the force was "taking more more precautions than we might have done otherwise."

"We will make sure we've got more officers on the street looking after people, making sure they're kept safe, but we've no reason to think they'd be any less safe than before the terrible events in Boston,." he said. "We'd be professionally irresponsible if we didn't take some reasonable steps."

Sang Tan / AP

Backdropped by Buckingham Palace, a jogger crosses the Mall in London on Tuesday. It will be transformed into the finishing area for Sunday's London Marathon.

Metropolitan Police Commander Christine Jones declined to give details of what changes might be made, if any, to the event's security plan. She said officers would “continue to review all the intelligence” available.

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel insisted the event would go ahead. “We will be reviewing our security in the coming days, in the light of what has happened in Boston," Bitel told ITV News.

"I don't want to talk about specifics of what security we have had in the past, or will have on Sunday. All I can say is that it will be of an appropriate level to meet whatever threat assessment is made, in conjunction with the police," he added.

Hugh Robertson, a British government minister, called for crowds and runners to attend in London as normal.

“The very best way to show solidarity with Boston is to get out there on the streets of London to cheer the runners on and to show that we won’t be defeated by this sort of activity,” he told the London Evening Standard newspaper.

Runners will be encouraged to wear a black ribbon at the start of the race to honor victims of the Boston bombing, and a 30-second silence will be observed, organizers said Wednesday. 

NBC News national security analyst Michael Leiter said it was “virtually impossible” to make a marathon completely secure because of its 26.2-mile long route.

“You just have to do the best you can to keep people safe and maintain resilience," he said. “It’s important we don’t alter our lives because that provides the terrorist – domestic, international, whoever it may be – with a huge victory.”

Helmut Spahn, executive director of the International Centre for Sport Security, told Reuters: "There has to be a clear analysis of the situation and certainly no over-reaction. More police, more military is not always the best solution. To have a 100 percent security is very, very difficult if not near impossible.”

Sang Tan / AP

A sign warns of road closures linked to the forthcoming London Marathon.

This story was originally published on Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:29 AM EDT

Two people were arrested in Britain Thursday over an assault on an "emo" teenager -- the first such move after police began recording attacks on subculture members as “hate crimes.”

The term, short for “emotive” or “emotional,” usually refers to an introspective style of music -- somewhere between punk and grunge -- and its associated fashion styles.

Earlier this month, Greater Manchester Police became the first force in the U.K. to treat attacks on groups such as goths, emos and punks in the same way as crimes based on race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

The 16-year-old victim was “distinctively dressed as an emo” in an eastern suburb of the northern England city when he was punched in the face Monday evening, the Manchester Evening News newspaper said.

The victim “describes himself as an emo,” police said in a statement, adding that officers had arrested a 14-year-old boy and a 44-year-old man over the attack.

“The assault has been reported as an alternative subculture hate crime and will be investigated as such,” the statement added.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the injured teen was hit "several times."

Garry Shewan, assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said:  "It is unfortunate that this incident happened, but the fact we were able to identify this as a hate crime is very positive. Just last Thursday we announced that we will now record alternative subculture as a hate motivation."

Lancashire Police / PA via AP

Sophie Lancaster was fatally attacked in a park in Lancashire, northern England, because of her goth appearance in 2007.

"We hope this encourages victims to continue to come forward so we can take positive action against offenders," he added.

In England, a hate crime is defined by prosecutors as “a criminal offense motivated by prejudice based on a person's disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”

The decision by police to include subcultures was partly a result of the 2007 killing of Sophie Lancaster, a 20-year-old in the northern England county of Lancashire, who was kicked and stamped to death for being a goth.

Related:

Iraqi teens stoned to death for wearing 'emo' clothes

TODAY: What exactly is emo anyway?

nandu.com

Law enforcement officers tackle fruit seller Li Shengyan in Guangzhou, China, in an incident that turned into a public relations nightmare for the authorities.

Cops in China charged with fighting petty crime have become so notorious for their abuse of power that their official name, Chengguan, has become slang for thuggishness. “Don’t be too chengguan,” one might admonish another, meaning “don’t be such a bully.”

That reputation was given more fuel Wednesday when a newspaper ran pictures of an officer tackling a diminutive fruit vendor in the southern boomtown of Guangzhou as her 16-month-old daughter looked on. During the incident, he grabbed Li Shengyan's neck and wrestled her to the ground after a dispute over a fruit knife.

Once such incidents would have provoked little comment and the authorities did not need to fear the court of public opinion.

nandu.com

After Li Shengyan was arrested, her 16-month-old daughter gave her a hug.

But the popularity of social media websites has changed all that. Users of China’s two most popular Twitter-like services had commented on the pictures some 7 million times by Friday, many expressing their disgust at the police.

There are now signs that those in power are being forced to take people power seriously, even if the eventual outcome is much the same.

One expert on Chinese social media said that while officials’ first instincts were “to cover up and distract attention” from controversial events, they now faced losing their jobs if they handled them badly.

Wednesday’s incident – as described by the report in the Southern Metropolitan newspaper -- started after officials confiscated her fruit knife. One officer, Ao Dating, then threatend to take away her fruit and the cart.

Pomegranate thrown
Li then yelled at Ao and hurled a pomegranate at him. This enraged Ao and he grabbed her by the neck.  The officer then forced her to the ground. His colleagues eventually dragged him off Li.

One picture showed Li with her hands tied -- unable to comfort her daughter as the young girl hugged her.

After the confrontation, Li was arrested and taken to a police station along with her daughter. Her cart was confiscated.

By Thursday, the story had become an internet sensation. 

“Brute!” one blogger posted.

“Can’t you be a little more civilized? Do you know how much it will traumatize the girl,” another said.

The traditional response given by officials to international press enquiries about events like this is: “I do not know.” 

However, this time, a spokeswoman for Guangzhou’s City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau was surprisingly forthcoming.

“Our bosses are investigating the incident and will inform the public once we find out,” she said. “We are waiting for the results too.”

Jeremy Goldkorn, an expert on Chinese media and Internet culture, said local governments were increasingly held to account by higher authorities for issues raised on the blogosphere.

“If they do not react, these lower level officials like city urban management police could lose their jobs,” he said.

“The first reaction of these types of officials is just to try to cover up and distract attention from the case. Because of the speed and growth of the social media, it becomes more and more difficult for that kind of distraction happen,” he added.

Investigation blames Li
After its investigation, the law enforcement bureau said officers had been suspended and there was a report Li had been given an apology as she was released from custody.

However, the investigation blamed it on Li, accusing her of attacking officials, injuring one. A picture of Li throwing the pomegranate was also released.

The original report in the Southern Metropolitan was taken down and other websites commenting on the incident also disappeared.

Li's cart was returned, but she was left unhappy.

“They (the officials) said ‘The girl, and her parents were well taken care of by the police,” she posted on a Tencent Weibo account which was registered to her. “It was just a show. My girl’s diaper was not changed in 24 hours … the police should face what they have done instead of writing a nice article to make themselves look good."

Huang Pei, of NBC News, contributed to this report.

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EPA, file

Hilton Botha at the bail hearing of paralympian Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 20.

JOHANNESBURG - Hilton Botha, the South African detective ridiculed for his slipshod handling of the initial investigation into the killing of Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend has resigned from the force, police said on Thursday.

Warrant Officer Botha, a detective with 24 years experience, was the first officer on the scene after the Valentine's Day shooting of law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp.

However, he was pulled off the case after it emerged he was being investigated for seven counts of attempted murder. He was also criticized for mixing up key facts about the investigation at Pistorius' bail hearing.

He handed in his resignation yesterday and it was accepted with immediate effect," police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila told Reuters. "We are not going into the details."

Botha, a detective with 24 years experience, is accused of firing on a minibus taxi full of passengers in 2011 while pursuing a man accused of murdering a woman and disposing of her dismembered body down a drain, local media said.

The charges were withdrawn but reinstated on February 4, 10 days before Steenkamp was shot.

The incident has embarrassed the South African police who regularly come under fire for failing to reduce one of the highest crimes rates in the world and dispel perceptions of a force that is poorly trained.

Last week, eight policemen were arrested for tying a Mozambican taxi driver to the back of a vehicle and dragging him to the station. The video-recorded treatment of the man who later died shocked audiences around the world.

Related:

Pistorius bail hearing in chaos as lead detective is axed from case

Lead detective in Pistorius case faces attempted murder charges

Pistorius: I felt 'sense of terror' on night I mistakenly shot girlfriend